Mahatma Gandhi 3 - The Story Of Shravana Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Two wonderful stories,
From the Puranas,
'Shravana' and 'Harishchandra',
Enacted as plays;
Captured the young,
Impressionable,
Enquiring mind
Of Mohandas Gandhi!

Reading a play
Or watching a play was better?
Mohandas preferred the play enacted.
A reluctance to read
Beyond the compelled school text;
Or being taken to task by the teacher
As much as he disliked
Deceiving the teacher!

Tired of his school lessons,
The routine home work,
His eyes fell on a book
Purchased by his father:
‘Shravana Pitribhakti Nataka'
A moving tale in the form of a play,
About young Shravana and
His devotion to his parents!

Mohandas picked up the book,
Read it with much enthusiasm.
The same story enacted by
Three showmen captured his heart.
The scene of Shravana
Carrying on his shoulder his parents
Through a sling fitted on his shoulder,
A touching sight!

The tragic story of Shravana
The story of an ideal son,
Affectionate, selfless,
A great blessing
To his blind parents!
The devoted son Shravana,
Following his parents' wish
Started on a pilgrimage!
.
On their journey,
Shravana stopped on the way,
To fill water from a forest pond,
To quench the thirst of his parents!
But a twist of the fate,
A cruel intervention,
Struck by a hunter's arrow,
Shravana drops down and dies.

The blind parents
Sitting in their bamboo baskets
Waited and waited,
For their loving son to return!
But O! Destiny!
With its cruel fangs,
Striking down an innocent life
Never ever to return!

For young Mohandas Gandhi,
The book, the play,
A vision of the lament of the parents
A loss inconsolable,
Left an unforgettable,
Lasting impression in the mind,
An example to copy, to emulate,
To become the virtuous son of his parents!